The first full slate of college football games provided plenty of intrigue at the Group of Five level.
Myself and fellow HERO Sports contributor Bennett Conlin will rank our top 10 Group of Five teams each week during the regular season, and combine our submissions to form the Group of Five Power Poll. Here are our Week 2 rankings (conference futures courtesy of BetMGM’s college football betting odds).
1. Houston (+240 to win AAC), last week: 2
The Cougars move up one spot to No. 1 after taking down the reigning Conference USA champions in a triple-overtime thriller. Houston trailed UTSA by 14 entering the fourth quarter, but senior quarterback Clayton Tune — who completed 22 of 32 passes for 206 yards, three touchdowns, and no interceptions, while rushing for 51 yards and a score — led his team to a comeback victory.
2. SMU (+900 to win AAC), last week: 7
The Mustangs delivered one of the most impressive Group of Five wins of the week, stomping North Texas 48-10 just one week after the Mean Green beat UTEP by 18 points in El Paso. Tanner Mordecai was near unstoppable behind center, throwing for 432 yards, four touchdowns, and no interceptions on 71.9% passing.
3. Fresno State (+150 to win Mountain West), last week: 5
A scoreless second quarter resulted in the Bulldogs’ opener against Cal Poly being closer than expected (they entered the game as 41.5-point favorites), but they still won 35-7, opening the game with 21 straight points and pitching a shutout in the second half. Jake Haener — the preseason Mountain West offensive player of the year — was as good as advertised, completing 86% of his passes for 377 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
4. UCF (+260 to win AAC), last week: 3
A win over FCS South Carolina State in last week’s opener was inevitable, but the Golden Knights comfortably covered a 37.5-point spread in a 56-10 victory. They’ll get their first true test Friday against Louisville.
5. Coastal Carolina (Sun Belt futures odds not available), last week: 10
The Chanticleers lost a ton of receiving production over the offseason, but Grayson McCall’s efficiency didn’t take much of a hit during a 38-28 win over Army. McCall completed 12 of 17 passes for 174 yards, three touchdowns, and no picks, while Reese White excelled as the feature back, racking up 153 yards from scrimmage with three touchdowns and an average of 6.7 yards per touch.
6. Air Force (+260 to win Mountain West), last week: 6
As expected, Air Force rolled over FCS Northern Iowa in its opener. The Falcons are hovering around 17-point home favorites against Colorado this week, but the Buffaloes should provide a benchmark of where they stand entering conference play.
7. Cincinnati (+220 to win AAC), last week: 1
The top team in last week’s rankings took a tumble after losing a top 25 matchup to Arkansas 31-24, a game in which they were playing from behind for the final 51:18. Regardless of this setback, the Bearcats are still the betting favorites to win the AAC.
T-8. Appalachian State (Sun Belt futures odds not available), last week: T-8
The Mountaineers left much to be desired defensively in a 63-61 loss to North Carolina, but their offense showed massive potential. They finished with 361 yards passing and 288 rushing, with an average of eight yards per play.
T-8. UAB (C-USA futures odds not available), last week: T-8
Similar to UCF, the Blazers weren’t heavily tested in their opener against an FCS opponent, but still comfortably covered the 40.5-point spread in a 59-0 thrashing of Alabama A&M. UAB scored all of its points in the first three quarters, while winning the turnover battle 4-to-1, and will look to carry this momentum into its first FBS game at Liberty on Saturday.
10. Marshall (C-USA futures odds not available), last week: unranked
With a 55-3 win over FCS Norfolk State in the opener and a trip to No. 8 Notre Dame looming this weekend, it’ll be tough to gauge Marshall’s potential for at least another week.
Receiving votes: East Carolina, UTSA
Dropped out: Boise State
